Statement From Senator Kevin Parker on Brown v Board of Education 60th Anniversary

(Brooklyn, NY) - "Sixty years ago today, the Supreme Court of the United States announced its unanimous ruling in Brown v the Board of Education.

As we all know, the Court's decision made it crystal clear that not only were the racially segregated school systems of the day unequal and illegal, but that segregated schools could never be equal and therefore violated the U.S. Constitution.

The road to that day 60 years ago when the foundations of legal inequality in this country were shattered, was paved by the sacrifices of heroic parents, families and communities. On the day after that victory, the struggle for full racial equality began when brave young African American children began enrolling in all-White schools despite the promise of violence and threats of death.

Today, our community's children go to school together, work together, live together and have no memory of the too-recent past when racial discrimination was the law of the land. We have come far together, and our solidarity will continue to win important progressive victories for us.

Sixty years ago, Brown v. Board of Education began the end of racial discrimination, and by reminding Americans of the promises inherent in our Constitution, it began the end of discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age and disability.

Please join me in thanking the brave families that fought for Brown v Board of Education and in a moment of praise and solidarity for the millions of Americans over the past 60 years who seized upon the inspiration of that day to work to perfect our democracy and freedom by opposing discrimination of all types.

So, as we remember the significance of Brown v. Board of Education we must rededicate ourselves to working in partnership to ensure that every child succeeds academically and finally redeem the promise of our constitution and our values as New Yorkers."

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About Senator Kevin Parker

Senator Kevin S. Parker is intimately familiar with the needs of his ethnically diverse Brooklyn community that consists of 318,000 constituents in Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Kensington, Windsor Terrace, and Park Slope.  He is the Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee and the Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Assistant Democratic Leader for Intergovernmental Affairs, Founding Member of the New York Caucus of Environmental Legislators, and Chair of the Democratic Task Force on New Americans.